Colorado State athletic director Paul Kowalczyk looks at his football program and is frustrated, just as the fans are. But he’s not about to make any decision on the future of fourth-year head coach Steve Fairchild until the season is over.

“The end of the season is the time to sit down and make decisions, figure out the direction of the program,” Kowalczyk said Monday in a phone interview.

CSU (3-5, 1-2 Mountain West) has a four-game losing streak. The Rams’ 38-35 loss at UNLV on Saturday was the latest in a string of dis-appointing performances.

Kowalczyk said he will watch the Rams’ remaining games before making any decisions, though he noted, “Obviously, evaluation is an ongoing process.”

Fairchild has one year left on his contract. He has one winning season at CSU, going 7-6 (including a bowl victory) in 2008 in his debut year. Hopes were high this season for a turnaround after consecutive 3-9 seasons, but the Rams are showing signs of collapsing down the stretch, as they did a year ago.

“I think everybody associated with the program right now — coaches, players, administration — we’re disappointed with where we are,” Kowalczyk said. “We certainly expected to be in a better spot by this time in the season. But we’re not, and we still have four more games to play.”

CSU has a bye this week, then hosts San Diego State, after which it plays TCU, Air Force and Wyoming.

Earlier this season in an interview with The Denver Post, Kowalczyk expressed pleasure with the direction of the program, from facility upgrades to improvements in the overall talent on the roster, as well as an upgraded coaching staff. Asked Monday if he still held that position, Kowalczyk hedged.

“Steve’s a good man. We’ve got a good staff,” Kowalczyk said. “I like the character of these kids. We haven’t been able to flip the switch and get on the win side here recently. That’s where we are right now. We’ve got to see how we finish here. We didn’t finish well last year, so I think that’s important as well. We’ll just kind of take it from there.”

Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson had butterflies before Sunday's game against the Detroit Red Wings. It wasn't because of the big-name opponent, but rather his return from a 13-game injury absence and being stoked to rejoin a team in a playoff push and looking for its third postseason appearance in 10 years.